Tag: life

Small efforts repeated daily

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” - Robert Collier​
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

When many people think of success, the part that often gets overlooked is the consistent, focused effort applied by the successful person. They think if I just do this ONE THING, I will achieve my goal. But that’s only part of the equation. Sure, you should probably focus your efforts on the most important actionable step, but you’re probably going to have to chip away at that one thing for a very long time to get where you want to be. It’s a long, slow, boring process. You have to enjoy what you’re doing, have a bigger “why” (a reason to push through difficulties), and a lot of grit in order to keep going when you aren’t seeing progress as quickly as you would like.

Two quick notes:

1) Make sure you take the time to really give your focused efforts a chance to pay dividends. If you keep bouncing around, switching from one idea to another (like a fad diet), you’re never going to see the results you want.

2) At the same time, be cognizant of if the efforts you’re making are really what you should be focusing on – are they going to make the biggest impact? Do you need to modify what you’re doing to optimize results? Do not scrap everything you’re doing, but tweak one little part at a time. It’s like an elimination diet. You eliminate one item at a time until you can pinpoint where the problem is. If you eliminate/change everything, you won’t know what caused the results.

Thoughts -> Words -> Actions -> Life

Your thoughts determine your perception of life and the outcome of your successes and failures. Change your thoughts. Change your words. Change your actions. Change your life.

Not: I need to do this.

But instead: I want to this this.

Not: I have to do this.

But instead: I get to do this.

Not: I should have done that.

But instead: I could have done that.

Not: I didn’t have time to do that.

But instead: I didn’t prioritize my time to do that or I didn’t make time to do that.

Not: I can’t do that.

But instead: How can I do that?

Success, happiness, and the life you want for yourself

What does success mean to you? For the longest time, I thought it was being great at your job, making a lot of money, winning (even in competitions you didn’t realize you were/are in). But none of that matters without happiness. If you are able to do those three things, but you’re not happy or those who matter most to you aren’t happy, then what’s the point? Granted, in order to feel happy, you need to feel useful. But you can be useful by doing other things – by helping around the house, by making others feel good when they’re around you, by having a good balance of achieving goals but still relaxing with friends and family…not everything needs to be about hitting goals. If that’s your life, you’ll eventually discover that “winning” something only brings temporary happiness and it never loves you back. Take care of those around you, try to achieve balance in your life, and work at being happier each day. Because, if I have to choose money or happiness, I’d choose happiness.

Happiness EQUALS success.

Success does not necessarily EQUAL happiness.

Ability

There is natural ability (what you’re capable with very little training) and there is learned ability (effort that you put in to increase your overall ceiling for achievement). Don’t rely too much on natural ability. This can lead to overconfidence and a lackadaisical approach to learning, growing, or improving. Don’t discredit yourself thinking that you don’t have much natural ability either. You are more capable than you believe. If you don’t believe in yourself, you’re less likely to step out of your comfort zone and try to tackle new challenges that can help you grow.

Trust bank

Judge a person based on their actions, not their words. People can say whatever they want, and often say what they think you want to hear. Don’t have “happy ears” and take them at their word unless they have a proven track record of following through to do what they say. Make them earn that trust first. They have to build up that “trust bank account.” Every time they keep their word or do something honorable/commendable, they are making a deposit into their trust bank account. If they start to be dishonest, untrustworthy, or make questionable moral decisions, they are making withdrawals. If they make too many withdrawals and not enough deposits, they will go bankrupt with your trust bank.